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We
appreciate all the hard work and dedication of our members and the non-profit
organizations as we worked through this year’s grant process. Thanks
to each and every member, this year's efforts brought our total IMPACT to
this community to an incredible $1,858,000!!!
CONGRATULATIONS to the 2008 Grant Recipients. IMPACT 100 has awarded
$112,600.00 to each of the following organizations!
Arts & Culture:
Pensacola
Little Theatre
~ Project:
PLT's Beyond Boundaries Theatre
Overview of
the Organization:
In 1926, a group of citizens met in the San Carlos Hotel
and elected a Board of Managers to coordinate theatrical productions in
Pensacola. By 1936 the group was known as the Civic Drama Players and one
year later became incorporated as Pensacola Little Theatre (PLT). PLT’s
mission is to provide quality productions and participatory opportunities
for local artists utilizing traditional, innovative and collaborative
programming. PLT serves the entire Northwest Florida community and presents
over 123 performances each year, all of which are directed, produced and
cast by volunteers from our community who invest more than 80,000 volunteer
hours each year. Pensacola Little Theatre presents plays that are written
by local playwrights, offers acting classes for children and students, and
through collaborative efforts offers outreach programs to local schools,
underserved communities, at-risk youth and seniors.
Overview
of the Project:
Pensacola
Little Theatre wants to tear down the walls and go “Beyond the Boundaries”
to bridge cultural differences and keep the arts alive in this depressed
economy. PLT will use the IMPACT 100 grant to purchase a truck and a
Multicultural Portable Stage that can be transported and set up anywhere in
the community. The truck and stage will allow PLT to schedule workshops and
performances for community centers, nursing homes, foster homes and other
public places. Each workshop will teach all aspects of theatre and will
include theatre games that will build self confidence, trust and
communication skills. The workshops will focus on a particular issue within
the community that must be addressed.
Pensacola
Little Theatre will then bring their performers and stage to the community
for a live performance and the workshop participants will be invited to be
part of the performance. This will not only allow the community a venue to
have theatre on their own turf so to speak, but will also allow PLT to
reach individuals who may not otherwise experience live theatre. Most
people in underserved areas have never seen a live theatre performance and
many seniors are physically unable to travel to the downtown area. The first season will
target senior citizens, through nursing homes and residential communities;
and youth through organizations such as Boys and Girls Club, Lakeview
Center, Belmont Center for the Arts, Japan House at UWF, Englewood Center,
ARC Gateway and Pyramid. The productions under consideration are as
follows:
1) Social
Awareness – Accidental Friends / Go Ask Alice / Louder I Can’t Hear You;
2) Senior
Citizens – Are We There Yet / Ladies at Lunch;
3) Youth
Intro to Classics – Lovers in Midsummer / All the World’s a Stage / Romeo
& Juliet or The Old I Really Love You But My Father Hates You Blues;
4) Black
History Month– A Woman Called Truth / Walk Don’t Ride! A Celebration of the
Fight for Equality / African Native Dance;
5) Hispanic
Heritage Month – Don Quixote / Calabasas Street;
6) Asian
Collaboration with Japan House at UWF – A Thousand Cranes / Dragon of the
Winds /Shita-kiri Suzume.
Expected
Impact on the Community:
Pensacola Little Theatre’s goal is to develop the at-risk
youth of today into leaders of tomorrow; to provide a better understanding
of African American, Asian and Hispanic Cultures; and to enrich the lives
of the senior citizens that have served this community for years. This
project is expected to impact the entire community of approximately 430,000
individuals, with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in the Escambia and
Santa Rosa County areas. PLT’s “Beyond the Boundaries” project recognizes
the importance of bridging cultural gaps and building good citizens as a
tool for economic growth in our community.
Education:
PACE
Center for Girls
~ Project: POWER UP PACE
Overview
of the Organization:
PACE Center
for Girls, Inc. provides an alternative path for adolescent at-risk girls
who would otherwise be incarcerated. It provides an opportunity for a
better future through education, counseling, training and advocacy. The
organization was founded in 1984, in Jacksonville, Florida and has grown to
15 centers throughout the state. PACE Escambia/Santa Rosa was the third
center to open in 1994. They are located adjacent to Pensacola Junior
College. They currently provide services to about 85 girls annually, and
have over 300 girls, ages 11-20’s, in their 3 year transition follow-up
program. It is a voluntary program. Girls are screened for acceptance into
the program, and must have a high risk factor in three of the following
four target areas: school, family, substance abuse or behavior.
Statistically, upon leaving PACE, 93% of girls earned a high school diploma
or GED, mainstreamed back into public school or were employed.
Overview
of the Project:
POWER UP
PACE is a project designed to add 25 new laptop computers, 7 smart boards
and curriculum based software to the center. PACE is lacking this basic
equipment to assist their girls with their education, and with the learning
of basic computer skills. The equipment will be used daily, and will also
be incorporated into the after school program for transitioned students
from 2-6 PM daily. This upgrade will bring PACE up to the same
technological standards as the majority of public schools in Escambia and
Santa Rosa Counties. Since students work independently, with individualized
teacher support, the project’s computer assisted instruction will provide
individualized tutorials, in academic subjects as well as allowing the
girls to learn Word, Excel and PowerPoint. These skills are vital for all
students today to become successful in school and in the workplace.
Expected
Impact on the Community:
Proficiency
in working with personal computers is a necessity in today’s world. By
improving the quality of educational tools offered to these girls, both
through the 25 laptops and the software for each subject they currently take,
PACE Center for girls will enhance their students’ results. Each girl’s
academic goals are individualized and progress is measured and reviewed
weekly. Academic achievement will be enhanced, providing tools that girls
will take with them to college, the workplace and into society. The impact
to their population of 385 at risk girls will be felt immediately upon the
purchase of the personal computers and it will result in a life long
difference in each girl’s skill level and computer proficiency.
Environment, Recreation and Preservation
ARC Gateway,
Inc.
Project ~
Going Green in Every Way
Overview of
the Organization:
ARC Gateway,
Inc. is a non-profit provider of services for people with intellectual and
physical disabilities, which started in 1954, as a grassroots organization.
Founded by a group of parents, the organization was created to combine
resources in hopes of giving their children a better education and a better
life. They began by providing a school for 30 children with special needs
and fifty-four years later, ARC Gateway now serves 900 children and adults
in a variety of programs. Services begin at birth and continue throughout
an individual’s lifetime for people with a diagnosis of autism, spina
bifida, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and other developmental
disabilities. The organization strives to help every adult with a
developmental disability become as independent as possible.
Overview of
the Proposed Project:
The Going
Green in Every Way Project will purchase the necessary equipment to expand
the existing recycling services of ARC to include document storage and
shredding services for our business community. An appropriate storage
facility will be rented to provide a safe, clean and climate controlled
environment for safe, confidential documents which can be faxed, copied or
emailed to the customer. Through an expanded collaboration of their
existing relationship with Gulf States Recycling, a storage truck will be
provided to transport the shredded documents to their recycling facility
where they will be weighed and purchased. The project will create an
on-going income opportunity for ARC programs, decreasing the dependency on
state and community funding, while providing meaningful work for those they
serve.
Expected
Impact on the Community:
ARC Gateway
will collaborate with local business to build a successful document
storage, shredding and recycling operation. With the growing concern over
identity theft, individuals and businesses will now have a place to bring
items for shredding at a per pound fee. This grant will provide needed
services to the community, and will position ARC Gateway as a recycling
leader while further improving our local environment. The program will also
provide additional job training, will help promote independence and will
enable ARC’s clients to become productive citizens in our community.
Family
Manna Food
Bank, Inc. (MANNA)
Project ~
Manna Needs Wheels
Overview of
the Organization
MANNA is a
private, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to alleviating hunger in
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. MANNA is a nonsectarian, community
focused, volunteer supported, organization that opened its doors to serve
clients on January 3, 1983. In 2006, MANNA began the Manna Family Farms
which established community gardens and advocates for locally grown food
and growers. The organization operates seven food distribution locations in
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. In the last reporting year, MANNA
collected and distributed through its pantries over 565,000 pounds of
non-perishable food. MANNA Food Pantries operates two distinct programs:
the Emergency Food Program, which provides short term food
assistance to families and individuals in temporary crisis situations; and,
the Monthly Services Program designed to provide continuing
assistance to persons with limited, fixed resources and limited public
assistance. All clients are served at no charge or obligation to the client
and internal records are kept for all services provided.
Overview of
the Proposed Project
Over its 25
years of operation, MANNA has expanded its reach into the rural corners of
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. MANNA has established a network of
pantries, and more recently of gardens as well, that provide food to many
area residents in need. The vehicles and equipment used to receive, handle,
store and redistribute these commodities are essential to MANNA’s daily
operations and are key components of operational efficiency and
organizational stewardship.
MANNA Needs
a New Set of Wheels is a grant proposal to secure new vehicles and
industrial equipment to restore the effectiveness and efficiency of MANNA’s
program operations. MANNA is requesting funding to purchase: (1) a
step van to take the place of a “soon-to-be-retired” 15 year old cargo van;
(2) two commercial indoor three stage forklifts for use in the main
warehouse; and, (3) a pick-up truck for service in the MANNA Family Farms
project.
Expected
Impact on the Community
In 2006,
MANNA converted its mobile operations into permanent distribution pantry
locations in order to service the remote areas of Escambia and Santa Rosa
counties. MANNA’s cargo van, currently used to deliver food to remote
pantry locations, is inadequate. A new step van will have greater capacity
for delivering to satellite locations and will better accommodate
volunteers (mostly retired).
New and
taller warehouse racks were installed in MANNA’s warehouse in December
2005. MANNA’s old lift trucks were unable to reach the new top racks and
this kept the organization from utilizing all available space. Recently,
MANNA has had to lease a forklift to keep the warehouse operating. This has
been expensive and consequently cost prohibitive to continue. New equipment
will ensure access to the majority of MANNA’s inventory/food supply and
will significantly improve space utilization and efficiency. The
Manna Family Farms program has realized success and enjoyed increased
community support. One donation in support of the gardens project was a
used pick-up truck. Unfortunately, the vehicle has over 100,000 miles and
significant limitations. A new pick-up truck will accommodate garden needs,
specifically the need to pull a trailer with the farm tractor aboard.
Health & Wellness
Appetite for
Life
Project ~ Expansion
for Life: Malnutrition among people living with HIV/AIDS and the Terminally
Ill
Overview of
the Organization:
Appetite for
Life was founded through the financial support of Dr. Gary Bergeron in
1996. As an individual with AIDS, Dr. Bergeron recognized that there were
many other individual living with HIV/AIDS in the area who lacked the
financial resources necessary to ensure adequate nutrition. He created the
RED RIBBON Foundation to help organizations offering AIDS related services;
and with funding from RED RIBBON, Appetite for Life served its first meal
in June, 1997. Even after Hurricane Ivan destroyed their facilities in
2004, not a single client meal delivery was missed. To date, the
organization has delivered more than 38,000 meals, serving 34% of the
AIV/AIDS population in Escambia County. It is the only organization in
Escambia County that provides these services to the population and their
families. In addition, Appetite for Life opened a food pantry in 2006 and
has recently expanded the meal service program to include the elderly and
disabled communities, as well as individuals with terminal illnesses other
then HIV/AIDS.
Overview of
the Proposed Project:
The funds
from the IMPACT grant will be used to purchase equipment with the dual
purpose of continuing and expanding meal delivery services and to generate
earned income from catering operations in order to reduce future dependence
on grants and other private sources for funding Appetite for Life’s core
charitable mission programs. The proposed expenditures are:
1. A
temperature controlled catering delivery truck. The truck will allow
delivery of more meals while conforming to USDA food safety guidelines. The
same truck will deliver food to the catering service customers – day care
centers, pre-schools, private schools, and summer center programs.
2. A cargo
van and walk-in freezer. The van will improve the organization’s food
buying power by being able to purchase in bulk, transport and store the
food.
3. A
generator to minimize food loss during power outages particularly natural
disaster.
4.
Additional kitchen equipment – convection oven, shelving, trays, racks.
5. Funding
for an audit to allow Appetite for Life to apply for government funding.
Expected
Impact on the Community:
There are an
estimated 3,000 persons in the Escambia/ Santa Rosa area with HIV/AIDS,
many of them elderly. Appetite for Life would be able to serve a larger
percentage of this most medically and financially needy population. They
would be able to establish satellite food pantries. By increasing the
capability of their catering services, they would be able to increase their
income by 400%, and thus cover a majority of the organization’s annual
operational budget.
We
appreciate all the hard work and dedication of our members and the
non-profit organizations as we worked through the 2008 grant process.
The women of Pensacola are truly amazing. We already have members
signing up for 2009 - and we thank all of you for keeping our
commitment strong!
